32 beautiful reasons to visit Ireland

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Photos:

Poulnabrone Dolmen (Clare) – Poulnaborne is a Neolithic portal tomb in the Burren region, dating back to as early as 4,200 BC. It attracts around 200,000 visitors each year.

Hide Caption

1 of 32

Photos:

Laytown Races (Meath) – Beach volleyball isn't the only sport that can be played on sand. Thirty miles north of Dublin, a full race meeting is held each September on an east coast beach in Meath, with thousands in attendance.

Hide Caption

2 of 32

Photos:

Inishmore (Galway) – Inishmore is the largest of Galway's Aran Islands, off Ireland's west coast. The flat karst terrain is limestone crissed-crossed with cracks known as grikes.

Hide Caption

3 of 32

Photos:

Benbulbin (Sligo) – In the heart of Yeats Country -- the childhood home and final burial place of the poet W. B. Yeats -- Benbulbin is a jaw-like slab of the Dartry Mountains. It gained its distinctive shape during the Ice Age. It can be found on the northwest coast.

Hide Caption

4 of 32

Photos:

Ballintoy Harbour (Antrim) – This fishing village on the north-east coast doubled as the Iron Islands in "Game of Thrones." If it doesn't seem dangerous enough in real life, it's a short drive away from the terrifying Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.

Hide Caption

5 of 32

Photos:

Cliffs of Moher (Clare) – Perhaps Ireland's most famous attraction, the 214-meter-tall Cliffs of Moher attract around a million visitors each year. It's on the southwest edge of the Burren region.

Hide Caption

6 of 32

Photos:

Mount Errigal (Donegal) – Mount Errigal is the tallest peak in Donegal, northwest Ireland. It's renowned for the pinkish glow of its quartzite rock at sunset.

Hide Caption

7 of 32

Photos:

Moll's Gap (Kerry) – A pass on the world-famous Ring of Kerry route, Moll's Gap has views towards the Macgillycuddy's Reeks mountains. The rocks here are Old Red Sandstone.

Hide Caption

8 of 32

Photos:

Killiney, Dublin – Stay in the exclusive seaside suburb of Killiney, south Dublin, and you might be lucky enough to spot neighbors Bono and Enya when you pop out for some milk (although they might send their butler for theirs).

Hide Caption

9 of 32

Photos:

Mussenden Temple (Derry) – Another "Game of Thrones" filming location, Mussenden Temple is an 18th-century folly -- originally built as a summer library -- perched dramatically on a northwestern clifftop overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Hide Caption

10 of 32

Photos:

Connemara (Galway) – Connemara, in northwest Galway, is one of the country's official Gaeltacht -- or Irish-speaking -- regions. In 2010, the number of daily Irish speakers in Ireland as a whole was estimated at 83,000, out of a population of around 4.6 million.

Hide Caption

11 of 32

Photos:

Castlegregory (Kerry) – Surfers can catch waves straight off the Atlantic at Castlegregory, a village halfway between the lively town of Dingle and Tralee, home to the endearingly outdated "Rose of Tralee" beauty contest.

Hide Caption

12 of 32

Photos:

Tollymore Forest Park (Down) – C. S. Lewis is said to have found his inspiration for the fictional land of Narnia in the sweeping mountains and labyrinthine forests of the Mourne region. Tollymore Forest Park -- home to waterfalls, bridges and grottoes -- still feels like somewhere one might encounter a faun or even a wildling. "Game of Thrones" was filmed here too.

Hide Caption

13 of 32

Photos:

Powerscourt Estate, Wicklow – A popular day-trip from Dublin, Powerscourt Estate in Enniskerry is noted for its grand country house, landscaped gardens, golf course, and Ireland's highest waterfall.

Hide Caption

14 of 32

Photos:

Strangford (Down) – Strangford village sits at the mouth of Strangford Lough, the largest inlet in the UK or Ireland. A ferry connects it with the village of Portaferry, on the southern tip of the Ards Peninsula.

Hide Caption

15 of 32

Photos:

The Skelligs (Kerry) – Skellig Michael is an imposing, windswept hunk of rock and a UNESCO World Heritage Site 12 kilometers off the southwest coast. If it looks familiar, that's because it starred in the ending of "Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens."

Hide Caption

16 of 32

Photos:

Trinity College Long Room (Dublin) – The 65-meter "Long Room" is the main chamber of the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin. Former students who perhaps took inspiration within these walls include Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker and Samuel Beckett.

Hide Caption

17 of 32

Photos:

Tyrella Beach (Down) – A Irish folk song penned in the 19th century by Percy French, and later covered by Don McLean, celebrates the northeast coast "where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea."

Dublin Docklands (Dublin) – The regenerated Dublin Docklands have seen plenty of new developments in recent years, including the construction of the Convention Centre Dublin and Samuel Beckett Bridge (pictured).

Hide Caption

20 of 32

Photos:

Ross Castle (Killarney) – Ross Castle is a 15-century tower house and keep on the edge of Lough Leane, the largest of Killarney's three lakes.

Hide Caption

21 of 32

Photos:

Blarney Castle (Cork) – Blarney Castle -- and the famous Blarney Stone inside it -- are so pretty it's no wonder people have been coming for centuries to kiss it.

Hide Caption

22 of 32

Photos:

Newgrange (Meath) – This 5,000-year-old tomb is older than the Egyptian pyramids and is an astonishing feat of Neolithic engineering. It's aligned with the rising sun and on the winter solstice its innermost chamber is filled with light. Tickets for the annual event are only available by lottery.

Hide Caption

23 of 32

Photos:

Giant's Causeway (Antrim) – Legend has it that these interlocking basalt columns were formed when Irish giant Finn McCool built a bridge across the Irish Sea so he could go fight a Scottish giant with whom he had beef. The scientific explanation is almost as good, though. The 40,000 pillars are the result of a volcanic eruption some 50 to 60 million years ago.

Hide Caption

24 of 32

Photos:

Hill of Tara (Meath) – The Hill of Tara is the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland and has been in use since the Neolithic era. Margaret Mitchell borrowed some of Tara's resonance when she gave its name to Scarlett O'Hara's beloved homestead in "Gone With the Wind."

Hide Caption

25 of 32

Photos:

Glendalough (Wicklow) – The glacial valley of Glendalough is home to a sixth-century monastic settlement founded by Saint Kevin. He was an ascetic, with one particularly lurid legend claiming he drowned a woman who tried to seduce him.

Hide Caption

26 of 32

Photos:

Kinsale (Cork) – A stop on the Wild Atlantic Way -- a 2,500-kilometer driving route along the west coast -- Kinsale claims to be Ireland's foodie capital. The 40th Kinsale Gourmet Festival takes place this October.

Hide Caption

27 of 32

Photos:

Dark Hedges (Antrim) – You might recognize this avenue of 18th-century beech trees from the second season of "Game of Thrones," when Arya Stark flees King's Landing disguised as a boy. The village of Stranocum is now a regular stop on Northern Ireland's "Game of Thrones" location tours.

Hide Caption

28 of 32

Photos:

Lismore Castle (Waterford) – Want to stay in your own private 12th-century castle, complete with 15 bedrooms? The Irish seat of Britain's Duke of Devonshire, Lismore Castle is available for exclusive hire -- at about 50,000 euros a week.

Hide Caption

29 of 32

Photos:

Achill Island (Mayo) – Achill is the largest island off the coast of Ireland and is home to a population of fewer than 3,000 people. The land here is mostly peat bog.

Hide Caption

30 of 32

Photos:

Allihies (Cork) – The Allihies Copper Mine Trail is a walking route around the wild Beara Peninsula, with spectacular mountain and sea views.

Hide Caption

31 of 32

Photos:

Glenariff Forest Park (Antrim) – Hidden from the crowds heading to the nearby Giant's Causeway, Glenariff Forest Park is home to the Waterfall Walkway, featuring a total of three stunning waterfalls along its path.

Hide Caption

32 of 32

Ireland might be famous for its pubs, but it offers much better views than the bottom of a pint glass.